The Team

The team of Initiative for Health Foundation has been trained in various projects, carried out by IHRD – New York, Pompidou Group, PHARE Program, UNDCP, UNDP, Chicago Recovery Alliance, EUROPAD, etc. The team members have different educational and professional background – psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, pedagogues and others. The foundation encourages the involvement in the team of people with personal history of drug addiction.

Elena Yankova – one of the founders of the organization and a member of the executive board. Since 2002 she is an executive director of the foundation. Since 1998 she had been coordinating the Program for prevention of HIV/AIDS among IDUs. For the period 1985-1998 has been working as a nurse in The National Centre for Addictions in their clinic, outpatient treatment service and methadone program. She received training in harm reduction interventions in Chicago, Amsterdam and Poland. Between 2002 and 2004 she has been working as an expert of the International Harm Reduction development Program of the Open Society Institute – New York, responsible for the development of harm reduction projects Bulgaria and in Macedonia

Anna Lubenova – Secretary of the foundation and a member of the Board of the Managers since January 2002.  She had been working as an assistant in the Program for prevention of HIV/AIDS among IDUs since June 1999 and since 2002 she coordinates the training activities of the organization, relations with institutions and partners, project development and management. Her educational background is Psychology and she has worked as a psychologist in Sofia Municipal Center for Addictions for the period February 2001 – February 2002.

Rayna Dyankova - Since January 2002 she is a member of the executive board of the foundation. She has been an outreach worker in the Program for prevention of HIV/AIDS among IDUs since 1998 and since 2002 – its coordinator.  Her background is social work and she has worked in the National Center for Addictions from 1986 to 1999, in the hospital, in the primary contacts service and in their needle and syringe exchange program. In 1998-1999 she worked in the mobile outreach program for drug users of Caritas Federation.

Iglika Krasteva – Member of the executive board since 2008. She has been working as an outreach team leader and a “gatekeeper’s” trainer since June 2001 and before that was involved in the program as a volunteer. Her educational background is Pedagogue of Deviant Behavior and before she joined IFH team she worked as a consultant in Sofia Municipal Centre for Addictions from July 2001 till February 2003.

Teodora Mateeva – Member of the executive board since 2008. She has worked as a volunteer in the organization since January 2001 and after that in January 2003 became an outreach team leader and a “gatekeeper’s” trainer. Her educational background is Pedagogue. Since July 2001 till January 2003 she worked as a technical assistant in Sofia Municipal Centre for Addictions.

Evgeni Genchev – Since January 2004 he is an outreach worker in Initiative for Health Foundation. He is a student in Economics of Transport in the University for National and World Economy.

Tsvetelina Sheneva - since September 2007 she has been working as a Project coordinator of the Objective 4 “HIV prevention among IDUs” of the Programme “Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS”, run by the Ministry of Health. Currently she is conducting the “Rada” project, aimed at combating gender discrimination of women drug users in the healthcare area. Bachelor Sociology, SU „St. Kliment Ohridksi” .

Ivailo Veselinov – an outreach worker in the organization since October 2007.

Maria Popova – she is a member of the IHF’s team since November 2007 as an interviewer in the project “Genetic Epidemiology of Opioid Dependencies” and an outreach worker. She is a student in Psychology in the New Bulgarian university.

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